The Other Side
by SnuffleTruff
Summary: What if Infinity War had ended just a tad bit differently? What if the other half of life had survived? How would our dusted heroes fare against the events of Endgame? One thing for sure is that they're willing to do whatever it takes. (Endgame/IW AU)
1. Chasing Pavements

**Hello fellow True Believers!**

**So after watching Avengers: Endgame. One of the best films I've ever watched. I was actually geeking out the whole movie. And I was literally shaking during the third act. It's definitely an experience I'll never forget. Hopefully.**

**Anyway, a thought had popped up on my head. What if the other half of life survived? And after giving it a lot more thought, I decided to make this story. Okay, so first off, this is my first full on Marvel story. I only really focused on Spidey because he's my absolute favorite. So forgive me if I get some characterizations wrong. I'm basing most of them from the movies so hopefully it won't be a problem. Second, this is just a weird what if story, so it won't have a lot off pay offs the original film had because of obvious reasons.**

**Now with that out of the way, let the story begin.**

* * *

They had just watched the blue cyborg fade into dust. The wind blew all of the dust away, her remains were now scattered among the abandoned planet.

"Nebula?" Quill called out as he gazed at the spot where his friend had stood.

Tony Stark had seen all of this from a distance. He was confused, but most of all he was scared. There was this lingering feeling inside of him and he was sure that it wasn't from his stab wound.

"Tony..." He looked to the wizard, Dr. Strange he called himself, there was this remorseful look in his eyes. "There was no other way."

Tony panicked, his hand began to felt numb. Tony shakily raised his hand and stared at it.

Or at least what was left of it. He already knew what was going to happen, but he couldn't accept it. What would happen to Pepper? Happy? Rhodey?

... The kid?

"Mr. Stark." Peter said as he walked towards his mentor. "What's going on?" He was confused, he hadn't realized it yet.

They lost.

The older man turned to Peter, a fearful look on the teenager's face. "_It's gonna be okay, Pete._" And just like that he disappeared, wiped away from existance.

The remaining five just stood there. Shocked.

"Magic-man." Drax said, anger and confusion in his voice. "What happened?"

Strange stared at the alien before him.

"_He won._"

* * *

The remaining Avengers had taken shelter inside the facility, it had just been a few days since Thanos' attack.

Since his victory.

T'Challa had to stay in Wakanda in order to keep peace among his city. He was definitely not happy seeing his general disappear right before his eyes.

Among other things...

"That bastard did it." Barnes seethed. "He got what he wanted." He said. The soldier had watched his best friend disappear right before his own eyes.

It seemed like the world always tried it's best to keep them apart.

"How many are gone?" Sam said, staring at the computer's screen as it began to run the numbers. There were countless amounts of casualties, that was for certain.

"I am groot." The tree said. He sat across the room, his face sullen and in despair.

Sam stood up, flinching as his leg ached. He had taken one nasty fall back in Wakanda. "You already said that." He said, limping his way towards a counter and grabbing a cup.

"I think that's the only thing it can say." Wanda piped up. "What are we gonna do?" She asked to no one in particular.

"What can we do?" Sam blurted out, pouring himself a cup of water. "Steve's gone, so is Thor, Vision, Banner, Romanoff, and numerous Wakandans." He said, his mind flashing back to Wakanda.

One minute, Rhodey was calling out to him, the next he was gone.

It was haunting to say the least.

"Our heavy hitters are gone. It's just us." Sam said. There was no point in denying it. Their only hope at this point was Wanda, and even then, she wasn't at her best.

"An aircraft is approaching." F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupted. Wanda and Bucky walked towards the window, staring at the ship outside.

"Is it a hostile?" Sam asked as he limped towards the window.

"Guess we'll have to find out." Bucky said as he picked up his rifle on a nearby table.

Groot stood up and stared outside the window, recognizing the familiar ship. "I am Groot!" He said as he ran out of the room.

"I can't tell if that's supposed to be a good thing." Wanda muttered, following the alien tree.

Sam limped towards the exit, groaning with almost every step.

His legs were shaking, it started getting more and more numb with every step he took, his feet gave out and he found himself falling. He would've smacked his face on the floor if it weren't for the beside him.

"What are you doing?" Barnes asked, raising Sam up. He led the injured man to the sofa inside the room.

"You need help." Sam muttered in between breaths.

"Not from you." Bucky set him down on the couch. "You're injured and you should accept that. The little birdie should stay here." He joked.

Sam glared at the man who started to walk away. "I'll show you a little birdie..." He muttered as he stared outside the window.

The three walked outside the field as the ship descended from the sky. The tree was waving his arms around. "I am Groot!" He shouted. It was the first time they had ever seen him smile.

The ship made contact with the ground. It's back faced towards them. The doors opened and Bucky readied his gun whilst Wanda got into a more aggressive stance, red lights dancing around her fingers.

Better safe than sorry.

Lights spilled out of the ship's entrance and the walkway lowered. The first thing they saw were a figure with two blue lights for eyes. Another man was behind him. He was wearing a weird robe and a red cape that billowed around them.

The two figures stepped forward and their forms became more clear to the two Avengers.

"Spider-Man?" Wanda muttered, recognizing the suit's eye pieces. Though it looked more metallic than she remembered.

Peter and Strange trekked down the walkway. "Is this the place?" Strange asked, turning to the teen

"Yeah... Yeah this is the one." Spider-Man said. His mask suddenly retracting.

Bucky lowered his gun at the sight of the youthful face.

Three more figures stepped down and Groot instantly came running to them. Surprising the others.

He tackled a tall man with a hug. "Groot!" Quill hugged back, relief written all over his face. It was comforting to see another familiar face. Though Rocket's absence, didn't go unnoticed from the team. "I'm so glad you're here buddy..." Peter said, hugging the tree even tighter

"Weren't you with Stark?" Bucky asked, turning away from the strangers.

Peter's looked at the man with a face filled with remorse and guilt.

It shook Bucky to the care seeing a kid with a face that carried so much misery and despair. It wasn't just about Stark, there was much more to it.

"He's gone."

* * *

"So you're telling me he killed half of all humanity?" Sam muttered in disbelief. He knew it was huge amount, but he never would have thought for it to be that much.

"Not just humans. He killed half of all _life_." Peter Quill corrected. "I'm talking aliens, animals, even plants. You name it. He killed it. All because of the Infinity Stones."

Bucky swore under his breath. Alien monsters were enough as it is, but magical stones were a bit out of his expertise.

"We have to fix this." Wanda said. "We need to get the stones and undo all of this." And maybe, hopefully, they could bring Vision back as well...

"How are we going to do that?" Drax asked. "We don't know where Thanos is." Drax said, a venomous tone in his voice.

"Maybe we could use your magic?" Peter said, turning to Strange. "You could do that can't you?"

Strange shook his head, "No, I'm sorry, but my magic doesn't exactly work like that." He retorted.

Peter hung his head. It was worth a shot...

"Well can't we track the stones or something?" Sam spoke up. "They're the most powerful objects in the universe aren't they? Wouldn't they leave out any kind of trail or something?" He suggested.

"I don't think they work like that." Wanda responded, "If it did, Thanos would have them found long before."

Quill snapped his fingers. "Wait, wait, wait, he might be onto something." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a device and dropped it onto the table. A hologram of Earth appeared before them.

He pointed at the planet. "Right there. See that?" The planet began to glow and a ring of light bursted from it's core. The ring expanded and travelled the depths of the universe. "When Thanos snapped his finger, he created this ridonkulous amount of energy." Quill explained.

Parker moved closer to the hologram. "That's amazing..." He muttered. The teen would've been more excited if it weren't for their current situation. "I've never seen anything like that."

"Exactly." Quill said. "No one has ever seen anything as powerful as this."

"Until Thanos of course." Sam piped in. "So what do we do with this information exactly?"

"Thanos used the stones and this happened." Quill gestured to the hologram. "We just have to find this exact energy signature when he uses the stones again. Then we'll know where he is."

"'When he uses the stones again'? What makes you so sure that he's gonna use them again?" Sam questioned.

Quill chuckled. "He has _the_ most powerful glove in the universe. You really think he won't use it again?"

Sam nodded. He had a fair point.

Wanda looked at the man, "And what do we do before that?"

Everyone in the room stared at Quill.

He shrugged.

"We wait."

And wait they did.

For weeks on end they waited for something, anything to happen. Most of them had opted to stay in the compound sans Spider-Man and Strange who went back to New York.

Peter Parker had immediately went to check up on his Aunt May who had fortunately survived along with most of his friends.

Strange focused on protecting their realm from any mystical demons who were willing to take the chance while Earth's Mightiest Heroes were gone. It was a lot harder without Wong.

Around the fourth week, they had picked up on something.

Whilst Quill was sat on the couch catching up on Earth's music, the hologram in the room had pinged. He pulled his earphones off and stood up. "Guys! Guys!" He walked towards the hologram, searching for the source of the energy. "I think I found something!" The signal was from two days ago, but it was still strong.

Several people had walked into the room.

One of which was Peter Parker. "Did you find where he is?" He asked, approaching the hologram in the room.

"A little late, but yes I did." Quill stated proudly.

"Where is he?" Wanda asked, staring at the unknown planet.

"I don't know, but I think he called it The Garden or something." At least that's what Gamora told him.

"We should go after him now." Drax stated. "We must not waste time."

No one disagreed with that. "But how exactly are we gonna stop him? How do we know it won't end up with us... dying?" Bucky asked.

"Because you didn't have us." Quill said as he gestured to his teammates. Everyone but them raised a brow. "Okay, and maybe he won't see us coming. We have the element of surprise."

"So what, we just take the gauntlet and undo the snap?" Sam questioned.

Quill nodded. "That's exactly what we're gonna do."

"Shouldn't we have a plan?" Bucky asked. This man singlehandedly beat them without even breaking a sweat. They weren't gonna beat them on the fly.

"I'll think of one on the way." Quill said, waving his hand at the assassin.

Bucky sighed. Sam looked at the group before him. "I'd hate to ruin the moment, but we are seriously underhanded."

"You're not the only heroes left right?" Quill said, picking up his jacket.

Bucky looked at his fellow teammates, "Call everyone you know, we need as much people as we can get."

Star-Lord turned to Drax just as he was about to leave the room. "You might wanna bring that too, bud." He said, pointing at the weapon by the corner of the room.

* * *

The makeshift team left Earth's atmosphere and began to travel the deep blue space.

The team consisted of the remaining Guardians, Bucky, Falcon, Spider-Man, the Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Shuri, and Doctor Strange.

Shuri turned to her brother, who was seated beside her. "Brother, can you believe it?" She said, her voice filled with excitement. "We're actually travelling in space!"

T'Challa smiled back at his younger sister. "Indeed we are, but I wouldn't doubt you making a spaceship like this in a few years."

Shuri scoffed. "Few? Try _next_ year." She chuckled.

Sam Wilson sat by the front beside Quill. Falcon looked at man beside him, confused. "You seem a little too happy for someone who is about to face the man who killed trillions."

Peter turned to the man. "That's because we're gonna win. We're gonna be the heroes of this story and get everybody back."

"How are you so sure?" Falcon asked.

"Because we're the heroes, man. We always win in the end." Quill chuckled, "And I'm kind of trying to get my girl back."

Sam chuckled. "Must be some girl if she's willing to put up with you." He quipped, earning a chuckle from Quill.

"She is... that's why I gotta get her back." He said, whispering the last few words to himself.

Peter Parker was not a confident kid. No, he was not. Ever since he was a kid, he'd been bullied, lost his parents, was mostly a loner if it weren't for a few friends.

And not too long ago, he had lost his greatest inspiration. The man who had changed his life.

He couldn't fail him again. He had to be brave.

But sometimes, he just couldn't help but be scared.

"Are you okay, Peter?" Strange asked, pulling the teen out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just a little scared." Peter admitted. "This whole thing is... a little too much. I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." He joked. "I'm not really cut out for space"

"I fought Thanos alongside you, and you couldn't be any braver." Strange said, "What are you so scared of?"

"I didn't think we could lose back then." Peter retorted. "And losing again doesn't seem so impossible now."

"We're going to get them back, Peter." Strange said. "_I promise._"

Peter nodded.

"All right, people! We're here..." Quill said.

"Is it safe?" Bucky questioned as he loaded his gun. "Any ships, armies, satellites?"

"I can't tell." Quill said, trying to scan the planet for any possible threats.

"We're good." Spider-Man chimed in, surprising everyone.

"How do you know that?" Asked Drax, confused as to how a boy could figure it out without any prior knowledge.

"It's... it's one of my super powers." He said meekly. It was a little wonky at times, but he knew he could trust it. "I can tell if there's danger or not. It's like precognition."

"That's a real nifty super power." Shuri said, interested in the fellow teen's biology. Maybe another time.

"If you say so, Pete." Quill said. He turned his seat around to face his new crew members. "Everybody remember their jobs?"

The remaining heroes nodded in unison.

"Now let's go get this a-hole."

* * *

_He won._

He did it. His life goal achieved.

Of course it wasn't without a sacrifice. He had sacrificed his daughter, the only thing he ever truly loved, but he can rest easy knowing that his daughter died for the greater good...

Thanos limped inside his little hut. The Titan had gotten used to his more laid back life. He took up farming and harvesting. And he wasn't ashamed to admit that he wouldn't mind doing this for the rest of his life, not at all.

All the wars and murders he's commited, this was easier. Better

For once, everything was peaceful.

And it truly was until the space between him and the ceiling began to spark. The light turned into a ring which soon expanded. Almost immediately after, a familiar woman had dropped down from the ceiling and onto his shoulders, her tiny hands grabbing onto his head.

Everything went numb and he was suddenly paralyzed. Two figures broke the walls by his left, one of them threw a device onto his open palm, turning it into a contraption that kept his hand open whilst the other webbed his feet to the floor.

Another two broke into the roof and held his right arm in place, one of them used the Bands of Cyotorrak and the other used it's tree like appendages to hold him down. Finally, a red haired woman dropped down in front of him and red lights flew between them, enclosing on him to make sure he wouldn't move a muscle.

A man appeared by the door and screamed. He brought a familiar axe up and charged towards him before bringing it down on his left arm. The gauntlet fell onto the floor and Thanos screamed.

Star-Lord flew down from the sky along with Falcon, while Bucky walked behind him, his gun loaded. Quill stalked towards Thanos, his steps giddy and cocky. "Wanna guess who came up with this plan?" He boasted.

Thanos continued to groan in pain as the heroes held him down. Quill walked towards the gauntlet and flipped it over. "You really thought you won didn't-"

The stones weren't there.

They all looked at it in shock, but they refused to waver. Bucky continued to stare at the empty glove, until his dark eyes met Thanos'. "Where are they?" Barnes asked pointing his rifle at Thanos, who refused to say anything.

"Speak." Mantis commanded.

Thanos couldn't stop himself, he couldn't regain control. "The universe required correction, after that the stone's served no purpose beyond _temptation_." He spat out.

T'Challa's fist struck Thanos in the face, purple energy spewing out of his hand. The blow knocked nearly everybody back. Mantis fell off Thanos as the Mad Titan himself fell onto the ground. "You killed my people!"

"You should be grateful!" Thanos said. Another fist collided with Thanos's face, this time it came from Sam.

"Where are the stones?" He demanded. "We know you hid it somewhere."

Thanos chuckled, "I destroyed them."

"Stop lying. You used the stones two days ago!" Spider-Man seethed.

"I used the stones to destroy the stones." Thanos said.

"You're lying!" Quill said. "You had to have used them for something else!" He refused to believe it. _Maybe... Maybe he-_ "You used it to bring back Gamora didn't you?" Peter said desperately.

"Fool! You can't bring anyone back from the soul stone. Those are the rules. She's gone forever." The Titan said.

"Cut the crap. You lost." Star-Lord brought his guns up, pointing them at Thanos. "Where. Are. They?"

Thanos just smiled at them.

"He's... he's not lying." Wanda spoke up after peeking through his mind. "They're gone."

Silence filled the room as the realization sinked in. The realization that they have truly failed, there was no going back. Their hopes were raised only for it to fall even lower than before.

They were dead...

Nobody moved. Nobody reacted.

All but Drax.

With an angered scream he swung Stormbreaker against Thanos's neck. Separating his head from his body.

Blood splattered on anyone and anything nearby as his head rolled on the floor.

"That was for Hovat and Kamaria." Drax muttered as he dropped the axe.

"What do we do now?" Shuri said, turning towards her brother, "What about mother?"

T'Challa just stood there, taking heavy breaths as the harsh reality continued to dawn on him.

Several of them stood there, motionless.

"No, no. This can't be it, can it?" Parker turned to face Strange. "Please tell me there's something else we can do." He begged. Strange promised him that they'd all come back.

Strange just stared at Peter, his face sullen and regretful, it was the same way he looked at Tony before he died. "Peter, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? My friends are dead. _Tony_ is dead. Countless others who probably meant nothing to you!" It wasn't fair to him, to anyone who had suffered. "You said there was no other way." Strange continued to stay silent. "You meant no other way for _you_ to survive didn't you?" He said with bitterness.

"Some hero." Peter scoffed as he walked out of the hut.

All this trouble for nothing. The fallen heroes would remain fallen, only merely avenged. Countless of families and friends, gone.

It was their job to bring them back, they're responsibility.

Peter Parker failed.

They _all_ failed...

* * *

**_For now._**

**And that's a wrap for the first chapter. I'm not yet sure how many chapters this might take, but expect about 15 or less.**

**So the first chapter is just before the time jump. I skipped ahead most of the heroes getting dusted because I thought that it wouldn't add too much that we didn't already know.**

**This story will mainly focus on certain characters and how they would deal with Endgame if they were given the chance. I will be adding more characters so this isn't the final team.**

**How was the story so far? Did you like it? Did you not? Feel free to share your thoughts. I'm very open minded towards constructive criticism.**

**Tune in next time to see how the heroes are doing after five years!**


	2. This Side of Paradise

**Okay before we really begin with this long-awaited chapter. I just want to explain why it took me more than year to upload a chapter. **

**... I got nothing. **

**Truth be told I just got too lazy and ended up procrastinating every chance I got. So yeah, greatest apologies to all those who have waited. **

**Also, greatest thanks to all those who kept asking if I forgot about this. I didn't completely forget don't worry. And you guys actually had to look for this story to leave your reviews (which are on guest accounts no less), so props for the effort, my friends. **

**Now unto the reviews:**

**ALPHAomega239: Glad you loved it! Which Peter tho? ;)**

**OniHika68: The Quantum Realm can do anything in the Marvel films to be honest. I'm just making stuff up on my own while sticking close to the canon, so my version of the QR isn't completely accurate. **

**Pipe: Loki still dies unfortunately and I can't really find a way to fit the Skrulls into the story, so apologies for that. **

**Guest: The Guardians will still definitely have a roll on here. I love em too much not to include them. **

**PrincessStarberry: Glad you noticed the parallels! They were one of the things I really loved doing. The different power sets that the other half held was one of the main reasons I wrote this in the first place. There's so much possibilities imo. **

**CandyGirl999: Wow, you've guessed a bunch of the things I planned (what little those may be). Also I'll def be using the Winter Soldier idea, that one's just way too cool. Really great suggestions and I hope I don't disappoint!**

**tom123asdf: They're totally still winning, I don't have it in me to write a story where the protagonists completely lose. I don't think Strange is that big of a d-bag. Peter's accusation was mostly cause of the guilt and anger. **

**FireSpartan5: I definitely do know that. But without the time skip everything would be real anti-climactic, so with the power of BS and drama, I have concocted a way to have a time skip.**

**Other guest: I'm pretty sure there's been a a few stories with a similar concept before and after I posted mine. Really hope mine won't disappoint. **

**RYJAN: Glad you really enjoyed it! I've already had ideas for who I should sacrifice for the Soul Stone. I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic!**

**MDL1: I'm not really planning to replace the heroes with people with similar powers because it would just make the fic repetitive. I did however find someone to replace Hawkeye, who was a super late edition.**

**mynameisevan: ask and you shall receive... after a year. **

**McHodges713: How dare you accuse me, I totally did not forget about this at all.**

**avidnarutofan: From the other reviews, you're definitely not the only one who wants to see more and I'm really glad for that. **

**For all those asking about Scott the first part of this chapter answers your question.**

**To everyone else who was asking for another chapter. Here it is. Really hope I don't disappoint!**

**And of course...**

_**Rest in Power, Chadwick Boseman. **_

_**When I heard the news, I couldn't even believe if it was real. It just came out of nowhere. I can't say enough how strong he truly is, working hard for 4 years knowing how sick he was, it's really inspiring to see how passionate and great he still was. **_

_**My condolences go to his family and friends. **_

**I know that was kind of a mood breaker, but I just wanted to put that in case anyone asked and he was such a great guy, he deserves the best. **

**Now without further ado. Here's the second of chapter of The Other Side.**

* * *

"I used to be a respected scientist," Hank Pym grumbled, the clacking of keys stopping momentarily. "had my name on the sides of buildings." He continued, a hand raised in the air for effect. Hank turned to look at the rusty brown van. "...now I got this."

"Well you wanted a smaller quantum tunnel." Janet followed her husband, a sorry look coming across her face as her eyes met the van. "This is smaller..." She didn't know Scott well, considering she'd only really met him a few days ago, but he was quite the odd choice to take up the mantle.

The sound of a customized horn interrupted the two.

"Whoops!" Scott said from the driver's seat of the van. "Sorry, my bad."

"I think it has flair." The elderly woman quipped as she turned back to her screen.

"Alright, control's online." The hero stepped out of the van and walked to the back, his eyes landing on his partner.

"The collection unit activates when you decouple it." The heroine said, holding the cylinder... collector thingy. Scott didn't pay too much attention during Hank's little info bomb. Not like it mattered too much, it seemed easy enough. "It should automatically start absorbing quantum healing particles."

Scott grabbed the device from Hope before Janet had spoken up. "Also, make sure to stay away from the tardigrade fields. They're cute but they'll eat you." The elder woman sneered. Scott nodded in response. "And don't get sucked into a time vortex. We won't be able to save you." She added, her tone much more serious this time.

He nodded again, but a worried hum followed with it. He'd definitely keep that in mind.

Scott's helmet snapped into place as Hope began to count down. He stared into the glowing tunnel, drawing a deep breath. Sure going into the Quantum Realm wasn't exactly new to him, but he didn't really enjoy his only other time down there, considering he barely remembered it at all.

Hank told him this wouldn't be as drastic as his last trip, that he might as well enjoy the view while he was there.

He didn't know how to feel about that to be honest...

The machine began to pulsate faster and it's hum grew louder. Breathing out heavily, Ant-Man readied himself before getting sucked into the growing light. The first thing he saw were a bunch of flashing colors and light, creatures and structures alike passing him by.

Eventually he stopped shrinking and ended up in a sea of blue, red, and purple. The yellow dancing lights was something he took note of. Scott would've appreciated the view if he weren't reminded by the fact that if anything were to go wrong, he would be stuck here for the rest of his life.

'_Probably should've packed those growing disks..._' He thought. If it weren't for them he'd still have been inside the Quantum Realm.

"Alright Scott, this is a mic check." Hank Pym called in from the radio. Scott chose to keep quiet. Who said he couldn't have any fun while he was down here?

Scott dragged out the silence as appropriate as possible before finally speaking up.

"Mic check: one, two, one, two." He said, trying his best to sound like an announcer or some 40's radio host. "How's everybody doing tonight in the quantum realm?" In hindsight, he probably shouldn't be messing with his literal lifelines.

"Scott, we read you." Hank said in an annoyed manner.

"I just- you wanna make sure." He said, trying his best to hold back a chuckle as he brought the canister up. With a twist, the particle thingy sprang open. Bright yellow lights seeped into the canister and Scott locked them in with another twist. "Okay. Particle's secured for our ghost friend." He was friends with a ghost, the hero reminded himself. Maybe not for long once they cure her, but he was friends with a freakin' ghost.

Hope smiled at the news. The transceiver brought closer to her face. . "Great, preparing for re-entry in five, four, three-" a static cut through her countdown. With a raised brow, the heroine spoke onto the device again. "Scott, you there?"

No response.

She sighed annoyingly. "Look, if this is another one of your jokes, you're just being repetitive." She half-joked but was only met with more static.

"Something's wrong." Janet spoke up, the two turning to her. "I think we lost the signal." She tried to say calmly, but neither of the two missed the panic that seeped in.

The family trio continued to reconfigure the machine hurriedly. "That can't be it. I know this machine inside out." Hank said, fidgeting with the controls. "There's now way the signal could have been cut!"

"I'll just pull him out." Hope said. Her fingers barely touched the surface of the button before her dad had pulled it back. She glared at the older man. He didn't really hate Scott that much right?

"No. If you press that button and Scott's not in position, you could kiss your little boyfriend goodbye." Hope's glare softened and she nodded in response. She hadn't thought of that.

"Right." She sighed in frustration. "I think I should go after him." Hope spoke up. She trusted her dad well enough to believe what he said. There was no point to what they were doing here.

Without another word she left the control panel and made her way to the van. She had only taken a few steps before Janet spoke up.

"We didn't bring your suit." Janet reminded her and Hope mentally slapped herself for that. They hadn't thought of bringing her suit because only Scott was supposed to go through the the tunnel. Why did it have to be him in the first place? It would've been the much safer bet.

She shook her head. This wasn't the time to be wondering about what ifs. Scott was in danger, she could scold herself later.

Their house wasn't too far, she could make it there and back in time, probably.

"I'll try and get-" Before the younger woman could finish her sentence, the sound of whirring blades caught their attention. As the seconds passed the sound grew louder and they all turned to the source.

Above the trio, a helicopter rapidly descending helicopter came closer and closer to the elevated parking lot. They couldn't even process the fact that the dust-filled cockpit was empty before it came crashing into side of the van, sparks flying out. The sound of metal screeching was almost deafening.

There was no explosion. The only sound that followed the groan of the metals and the shattering of glass was the fading hum of the tunnel. It's lights eventually died out with a spark and there was nothing more than a violent mess of metal and glass, a pillar of smoke rising in between them all.

All they could do was stand and stare at the remains of the van.

**~O~**

_2 Years Later_

Spider-Man swung through the buildings of New York, shivering at the cold winter air. He released the web he clasped onto, the arc of the swing carrying him higher. "Karen, could you turn up the temp-" Oh right. While in the air he raised his arm and stared at the spandex.

The very normal, not high-tech Stark branded, spandex. Nearly a month ago, in what seemed like another normal patrol, he ran into a bunch of animal-themed supervillains trying to steal something from a museum. They called themselves The Menagerie, which Peter thought was kind of clever.

He'd have thought they were one of those low brow villains who only took up a minute of his time. While the hero wasn't wrong, he definitely didn't have the last laugh. He'd webbed up the Bugs Bunny cosplaying woman and was about to deal with the walking hippo if it weren't for the fact that one of them literally ripped his costume down to its threads.

One second he was dressed head-to-toe in a very comfortable fabric, and in the next he was buck naked with only his mask left. The next minute was spent cleaning up the rest of the group with a makeshift underwear made of webs (lest Jameson started ranting about public indecency).

And he definitely didn't enjoy picking up the pieces left of his costume while people laughed and took pictures of him.

He had no spare Stark-built suit and he couldn't exactly ask for a new one. His much older suit was torn to shreds during his fight with Toomes, so he couldn't exactly use that either. So with no other choice he spent a whole week sewing up a suit from scratch. Though, he was glad May already knew about his secret double life. At least he didn't have to hide anything from her and it made it much more easier to ask for help so he could make something halfway decent.

"What was that, Peter?" The synthetic voice rang from the mask. Oh and he was able to put Karen into his suit. So that was cool.

"Sorry, Karen. Not exactly used to this suit yet." He grumbled, pulling at the tight fabric as he swung through the air. If he ever came across the Menagerie again that Skein girl better not take his costume again. "Why'd they even let her into the team? She's not even animal themed!" _He_ had a better chance at joining the team.

Not that he would, mind you.

Spider-Man landed onto the roof of the new F.E.A.S.T building, the snow crunching beneath his feet. Quickly pulling his mask off, the cold air immediately grazed his face and he shivered at wind. In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have used spandex, but Peter couldn't help but think that having his suit under his civvies was much more convenient than the sweats he had for a suit. It was much more stylish too.

lifting the wooden board on the roof, Peter stared at the worn gym bag, which was thankfully not covered in wet snow. Zipping it up, he grabbed any piece of clothing that wasn't covered in wrinkles and didn't smell like dirty gym clothes. He should probably start investing in air fresheners.

Maybe he could get the strawberry scented ones...

After a quick change of clothes Peter jumped down the roof and into the small garden area by the back, checking beforehand if there were any hints of bystanders. Probably not the safest way of getting in the building, but it beat having to explain how he got in without anyone noticing.

Plus his spider-sense, or Peter-tingle as May would call it, hasn't failed him yet.

Stepping out of the garden, the teenager walked over to the front of the shelter, passing by a number of people bundled up in their coats. His Aunt May had volunteered working for F.E.A.S.T. way before half of all life got dusted and he didn't miss out on how much more tired she got as the time passed by.

He wasn't surprised. People disappearing didn't just hurt emotionally, it took a toll on everything. Before he knew it, a ton of people started living in the streets. It was slow, but he definitely didn't mistake it when he was out on his patrols.

Peter was lucky he and May were barely affected, but that didn't make him feel any better. Lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice the pair in front of him. He bumped into an older man, both of them grunting in surprise.

"Thanks a lot, spider-sense..." Peter muttered to himself.

"You know it's not really safe to talk about that in public, kid." The man said, his voice familiar to the teen. "The wrong kind of people might hear you."

Looking up Peter caught himself face to face with- "Mr. Wilson?"

"I told you to drop the formalities kid." The Falcon chuckled.

"May always told me to respect my elders." He mumbled. The boy shook his head. "Wha... what are you guys doing here?" He said, turning to the red headed sorceress, who gave him a small smile in response.

"Like I said, we'd come back to help you and May." He shrugged, his coat shifting from the movement. "Not like there's much Avenging to do these days." Plus it definitely beat sitting on their tuchus the whole day.

"Despite what you think, the compound can get boring real quick." Wanda added.

Peter chuckled. "Is uh... Mr. Barnes coming?" He hadn't seen him since they went back from their mission. Actually, he hadn't seen a bunch of them since then now that he thought about it. King T'Challa and his sister went back to Wakanda and the Guardians probably returned to space.

The only other person he hadn't seen was Strange, and he made it an effort to keep away from the guy who lived a few blocks over.

"Nah, he's not really in a socializing mood." At all. Sam wanted to say. "I'm sure he'll come around some day."

Truth be told, him running into Peter a week ago was a total coincidence. He'd try and get Wanda and Bucky to start getting out of the compound more. He was only lucky enough to convince Wanda.

Sam opted to start helping the shelters, considering they were the reason that a whole lot of people lost not only their families, but their homes too. He knew F.E.A.S.T. was one of the busiest shelters since their owner, Mr. Li, made it an effort to help give everyone a home.

If Sam was being honest, this visit wasn't purely out of the goodness of his heart. While he did plan to help, he was mostly here to check up on the kid. He hadn't heard much about him in the past two years. Only from what he saw on the news and what their mutual friend told them about the vigilante, was Sam's only clue as to what the Spider-boy was up to.

He had grew fond of the kid from the short time the two spent together. Their first meeting wouldn't garner the greatest of first impressions, but Sam could tell the kid had heart. The brat was way too passionate to help people out, it worried Sam out.

Not even adults burdened themself as much as Parker did.

He shouldn't have been to surprised to see the kid helping out here. Sam had thought the brat would be too busy Spidering around and dealing with high school BS to even get a job, much less a volunteering one. He also hadn't expected another familiar face to be working here. "Is Kate around?"

The teen nodded "Yeah, May said she was here." The trio made their way up the steps and to the door. The light spilling onto the dark, the warm air crashing against their cold bodies. Peter sighed in relief as they stepped in.

They immediately entered the old gym building, hanging their respective coats on the rack. "They should probably in there." Peter pointed to the kitchen. "You guys go ahead, I promised to help Bernie with the T.V.." he separated from the group and headed to the grumpy old man.

Sam and Wanda entered the kitchen, a raven haired woman turning to look at the pair in surprise, a grin spreading across her face. "Couldn't get enough of the place, huh?" She sneered. Kate picked up a plate full of sandwiches, the smile not leaving her lips.

"Yeah, yeah... anything we could do, Bishop?" Sam replied. He also hadn't expected his fellow part time Avenger to be working here.

"Bishop? Dude, that makes me sound old..." She grimaced at the name. From what they knew, she was around the Parker kid's age, though she definitely didn't act like it. The archer gestured to the multitude of food-filled plates on the table. "Grab a plate and help me give these out." She said, walking out of the kitchen and into the cafeteria.

Peter had joined them eventually and the band of heroes had retreated back to the kitchen when all was said and done. Biting into the sandwich, Peter looked at the company before him, a small smile playing at his lips. Their little group sat by the table, digging into their own sandwiches, chatting about something Peter couldn't make out.

He could live with this.

Never had he expected that the Avengers would be a part of his life, even after the bite. Peter always thought that he'd never make it big no matter how many videos on YouTube he was on. Super-powered people were starting to become the norm, so why would a teen in sweats be anything special?

Peter was glad Tony thought otherwise.

'Heh, almost forgot for a second.' A frown had replaced the smile he wore. It had been two years and he still wasn't over what happened. Who was really? Kate lost her mom, Falcon and Wanda lost the team. Everyone had lost something that day, and not everyone knew why. That's kind of hard to forget.

The sound of footsteps had thankfully interrupted his thoughts. "Thank you for coming over again, you two." May nodded at them thankfully. "We really needed the help, and to get them from the Avengers no less..."

"-I know it must be weird to have two superheroes barge in here," Kate glared at the older man while Peter raised a brow. Sure, two Avengers coming to help, it seemed normal. They were superheroes, they helped people all the time. Though, Sam thought it would be weird to see your nephew and his friend being buddy-buddy with the Avengers so casually. "but I assure you that there is a perfectly good explana-"

"Uh, May knows..." The teenager interrupted, "About my, er, other life." He added in a whispered tone. "There's no need to cover up for me."

"Well that's a relief." Wanda sighed. She knew Sam meant well, but for all the fighting and espionage he did, he was a pretty lousy liar. "When'd you find out about your nephew's secret hobby?" The mutant asked, resting her head on her right hand.

"About 4 years ago, if I remember correctly." May answered, tapping her finger on her chin. "Oh, but the best part was how I caught him!" The eldest woman chuckled while Peter's eyes widened. "I saw him-"

"Ah! They really don't need to hear that, May!" The teen interrupted, almost slipping off his seat. His Aunt May was embarrassing him in front of the Avengers... that was something he never thought would happen.

"Pete was trying to do a superhero pose when May caught him." Kate finished, biting into the sandwich, "He was in full costume and everything." She added, her mouth full of food.

Peter glared at the girl almost immediately. "Dude!" Kate shrugged, her mouth tinged with a smirk. "So not cool..." he mumbled as Sam and Wanda's laugh rang throughout the kitchen.

The group continued exchanging more of their personal stories. Wanda told them stories about her adventures with her brother (the fact that she had a sibling shocked Peter), Sam told tales about all the shenanigans that happened in the compound, and Kate talked about trying to start up work as a P.I..

And May told the all too familiar story of how she met his Uncle Ben. The whole time she was telling it, a bittersweet smile had spread across his lips.

His joyous moment had been interrupted by his phone vibrating. Whilst everyone else was busy listening to another one of Sam's stories, he pulled the phone out of the pocket of his jeans.

It was a text from one Captain Stacy. It was only a year ago when he and his daughter Gwen, who Peter may or may not have a crush on, moved into New York. For someone who looked way too tough for his age, Peter had to admit he was actually pretty nice, and he wasn't just saying that because he had a thing for his daughter, no siree.

At least the captain supported Spider-Man, that he was really glad of. He had enough people slandering Spider-Man already, thank you very much.

"I-uh, gotta meet up with Captain Stacy." Peter got up from his seat. He'd wished he didn't need to go, that he could just finish the night with this before he and May went back home. Sadly, the universe just wasn't on his side at the moment.

"Why's the captain calling you?" Sam asked.

"Oh, not _me_." He raised a hand, closing his middle and ring finger in a mock thwipping pose.

Sam shook his head, "No wonder May found out. You're basically showing the world you're Spider-Man." He said, the second half being in a more whispered tone.

"I do not." Okay, he could be kinda careless at times.

"Better hurry up, Pete." Kate chimed... he didn't like the tone of her voice. "Best not to keep Mr. Stacy, waiting. It leaves a bad impression." The archer teased.

Peter stared at the other teen, shaking his head slowly. "Don't." He mouthed.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Wanda spoke up, looking at the younger woman.

Kate turned to Peter with a grin before she looked back at Wanda. "Pete has the hots for the captain's daughter." She said nonchalantly.

Peter's face went as red as his mask "Dude!" Kate shrugged once again.

May shook her head in confusion, "Hold on, I thought you liked that Michelle girl?" May questioned, slight disappointment in her features.

"I'm not even sure if she likes me like that." He didn't fail to notice how soft his voice got as he spoke. "Plus, I can be with more than one girl." Peter joked, but the unappeased look his aunt gave him made him cringe. "I was just kidding, May."

"Sure." May rolled her eyes jokingly as she stood up. "Oh and don't forget to check the mail, Peter." May reminded him, picking up the empty plates and placing them on the metal sink.

"I can come with you if you'd like, Pete." Kate offered. It's not like her dad really cared if she got home late. "I'm not busy or anything."

Peter waved a hand and shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. I don't wanna waste your time." The teen was almost out the kitchen before Kate could even interrupt him. "It's probably nothing, so don't worry."

The boy said his goodbyes to the group, promising they'd all see each other again. Going back to the garden, jumped onto the roof and unzipped his coat.

He was already dreading the cold night air.

**~O~**

"Haha guys, I get it. I shouldn't make jokes like that when I'm in the Quantum Realm." Scott said dryly. He'd been waiting for them to pull him out for minutes, believing it was just a joke that dragged out way too long. "Seriously, I've learned my lesson." He held up his hand in a mock gesture "Scott's Honor."

The man chuckled at his little joke.

The silence that followed made him cringe. He knew something was off, but he was too scared to believe it if it meant he was stuck here.

He didn't like where this was going. Was it really just a joke? Surely they wouldn't be too upset with the joke he pulled a few minutes back. "They're adults, of course they wouldn't take it too seriously." He mumbled to himself. What if something happened to them up there?

Now he was really wishing he'd stock up on those growy disk thingies. His breath hitched, the reality of being stuck in the Quantum Realm becoming all too real. "Don't panic, don't panic." Scott said. "It's probably just some radio interference." He said, but he knew it was just a shallow attempt at comfort.

It had to be something else right? He knew Pym tech wasn't super wonky. As makeshift and old as some of the tech Hank used, even some of the details went over Scott's head and he was an electrical engineer. Granted his new suit had shrunk him to half his size for a few hours, but all in all he could trust what Hank was doing.

The sea around him started glowing with even more dancing yellow orbs. Weird. Cool, but weird. Taking a deep breath, he allowed himself a moment to think. He was smart, he got out of the Quantum Realm once, he could do it again.

Absolutely nothing came to mind.

"Oh man..." was this really it for him? "Please be alright guys." He held the canister closer to himself and curled himself into a ball as he drifted into the empty space. Janet survived in this place for like, thirty years before someone came to save her. He could do the same thing, no biggie.

Thirty years being alone in here as the world continued on without him. How bad could it be? Maggie and Jim would probably have kids by then, Scott didn't doubt they'd be a great family. Luis and the rest's business would end up being successful and they'd become a household name. Ava would probably end up ghosting herself out of existence without the healing particles he held in his arms.

That didn't sound too good...

Hope and the Pym's would move on eventually and he'd just be the dude they lost in the Quantum Realm. Scott was confident they wouldn't forget him, but he didn't know if that was better considering that the alternative was living with the fact that someone they knew was stuck somewhere in the Quantum Realm for the rest of their life.

And Cassie...

Thirty years. She'd probably already be working hard with whatever job she ended up on. Scott chuckled to himself. One day Cassie would go up to him, saying she'd want to be a treasure hunter, thirty minutes later she'd come back and say she wants to be an astronaut. She'd probably be already married too and have a couple of kids.

_His_ grandkids...

What was he saying? He couldn't stay here for thirty frickin' years! He couldn't miss out on that, _any_ of that. He'd promised himself he would always be there for her and he was damn sure he wasn't going to leave her without a dad again. Never again.

He'd already missed out on so much...

Shaking those thoughts out of his head, uprighted himself and held the canister tighter. He had to find a way out and he didn't think Hank and the others could help him at the moment.

Like Nana Lang always said: If things don't go as plan, always expect a worst case scenario.

Why she said that he didn't remember, but that wasn't important. The hero began to look around the vast sea, hoping to find anything, anything at all, to help him.

The loud humming had caught his attention. Turning to the source of the noise, Scott saw the ever growing light a few feet behind him. The white and orange whirlpool had eventually ceased its swelling, its pulse present and mesmerizing.

Guess this was his worst case scenario. End up stuck here or go through whatever that is and hope it was somewhere better.

"A time vortex..." Scott murmured to himself, remembering what Janet said. He didn't know if he just lucked out or if the universe answered his prayers, but he wasn't complaining. He kicked his legs out and began to paddle them, attempting to swim in the colorful space. "No... come on!" He stopped kicking eventually, a sense of dread overcoming. He him wasn't going anywhere at this rate and he didn't think the portal would just kindly wait for him.

The portal was just a few feet away from him, one push and he was home free. Now he thought the universe was just mocking him.

And even then, was going through a portal that would lead him who knows when really a great idea? For all he knew, he could end up in the stone age with no way back. All Scott knew was he didn't want to go out like this. Floating in here for the rest of his life until his body gave out.

If he was going down, he was going down swinging.

Scott looked at the canister in his hands and an idea popped into his head. He could throw it and use that momentum to reach the portal. Easy as pie. With one hand he raised his arm, hand held tightly on his ticket home.

His arm flinched.

No... this didn't feel right. Sure he was desperate, but he wasn't willing to just throw Ava's last chance at a cure to save his own hide. What kind of dad would he be if he'd let another girl die because he was scared?

The humming began to fade and the glowing vortex flickered.

He stared again at canister guiltily, his eyes practically boring holes into them. "Last chance, Scotty." His life for another? Could he do it?

Shaking his head, he gripped the container tightly. He couldn't do it, but he wasn't giving up either. Another idea had come mind. Thinking of the only other object with weight in his disposal, he unbuckled the belt, his grip on it almost slipping. The thick gloves and shaky hands weren't helpful.

Holding the belt as tightly as he could, he began spinning it overhead, as would a cowboy with their lasso. "Please work, please work!" He loosened his grip on the metal belt and threw it out in front of him. The force was enough to push him towards the closing portal and away from the floating belt.

He reached out to the portal, his fingers almost grazing the light, its warmth comforting.

'I'm coming, Cassie'

In less than a second, Scott disappeared as he and the canister were sucked into the time vortex.

Well, at least he hoped it was a time vortex.

* * *

**Yeah, Scott lives in this fic, because Paul Rudd. **

**Honestly, Scott wasn't meant to survive in this fic, but I couldn't find anyway to make the story progress without the time travel bs. So yeah, Paul Rudd. **

**Also other things I've changed and added. I lessened the time skip to just two years, because five years of them doing nothing doesn't feel likely especially with Hank and Janet around. **

**Kate Bishop was also never meant to be in the story, but after reading through Matt Fraction's Hawkeye (great read btw), Young Avengers, and her own run, I just couldn't help myself. More info about her on the following chapters because I didn't want to dump to much in this one and it was already long as is, over 5000 and that's not even counting the Author Notes.**

**Also if any of you are wondering what Spider-Man's new suit looks like, just imagine Alex Ross' art. The reason why I removed the Stark suit was because Peter would be a little too OP if he kept either of the suits and it helps with the feeling of loss as it shows Tony's really gone(for now) and that everything is a little more scarce now.**

**I also hope none of you mind that I basically mixed elements of Spider-Man PS4 into Peter's story.**

**Reviews and feedbacks are much appreciated!**

**Tune in next year for the next chapter. Kidding...**

**Hopefully.**


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